Otherworld Advance Team -
Chapter 1488 - 1481: Prosperous Return
Chapter 1488: Chapter 1481: Prosperous Return
Hearing his words, Baiyue breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "As long as you know what to do, many things don’t need to be discussed with me specifically, I trust your judgment."
"Don’t say that, isn’t it a principle of the Advance Team to discuss matters internally?" Cheng Ziang shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
While they were talking, they suddenly saw Zisu entering with a brisk pace. Seeing her demeanor, Cheng Ziang and Baiyue exchanged glances and pursed their lips without speaking.
After entering the room, Zisu immediately took off her mask, revealing an excited expression. Seeing her expression, Cheng Ziang felt a thud in his heart, guessing that the elder of the Ghost Race must have agreed to hand over the genetic weapon to Zisu.
"Uh, didn’t you go out today?" Zisu put away her smile and asked curiously.
"Uh, woke up late." Cheng Ziang exchanged glances again with Baiyue and scratched his head.
"The weather is nice today. If you still want to record anything, you should go out soon, because we should be leaving the day after tomorrow," Zisu said.
"So soon?" Cheng Ziang showed a surprised expression.
"Yes," Zisu, completely immersed in her joy and not noticing his real thoughts, nodded, "The battle in West Outer Heaven is still ongoing, we can’t stay here for long, otherwise it might cause trouble there."
"I see." Cheng Ziang nodded understandingly.
"Of course," Zisu thought for a moment and said, "If you really can’t bear to leave, you can stay here temporarily. After all, the people from the Ghost Race seem to be quite nice to you. You could stay here for a while and wait for the battle in West Outer Heaven to end before returning."
"Forget it, we are strangers here, it’s hard even to find someone to talk to." Cheng Ziang spread his hands, smiling bitterly.
"Well, I forgot about that," Zisu paused, then smiled, "But it doesn’t matter, there are quite a few people here who speak the Demon Clan’s language. If you decide to stay, I can help arrange for them to be your translators."
"We appreciate your kindness," Cheng Ziang smiled and politely declined, "Even so, we must still escort you back, right? Have you forgotten that our main task in coming to Aximiya Island was to escort you? It wouldn’t make sense for you to go back alone while we stay here."
"Eh, I did forget that," Zisu said, knocking her head and chuckling, "Lately my memory hasn’t been that good, truly sorry. But actually, I’m not that fragile, you don’t need to escort me."
"That won’t do, honor our commitments is our principle. How can someone who frivolously breaks their promises gain the respect of others?" Cheng Ziang said.
"That makes sense," Zisu nodded, "Alright then, you guys arrange as you see fit. I will notify you before I leave, and we can go back together."
"Alright, then we’ll head out now," Cheng Ziang said.
"Yes, be careful and remember to come back for meals," Zisu smiled.
From her expression, Cheng Ziang could see that it was a heartfelt smile, which meant that she must have encountered something delightful. Cheng Ziang guessed that after having a meal with him, the elder of the Ghost Race had gone straight to find Zisu and agreed to hand over the weapon, making her quite happy.
With this thought, Cheng Ziang, Baiyue, and one other left the room and headed to the streets to continue their cultural documentation. Zisu, who seemed in a rush as well, urged the group to leave Wujing Yv quickly since the weather was forecasted to be gloomy the next day, and they were heading back to the fishing village.
Since the weather continued to be good in the following days, the group returned to the fishing village in just six days without encountering any attacks from the Faceless.
However, Cheng Ziang noticed that Zisu held a small box in her hand upon returning to the fishing village, a box that wasn’t large and thus was always carried by her side.
The tribute team from the fishing village was specially waiting for them before returning to the village together. As soon as they arrived at the village, Cheng Ziang felt inexplicably like he had returned home. The villagers enthusiastically crowded around, chattering about something, and the chief shaman recited Spells for everyone who returned safely, including Cheng Ziang and the other outsiders.
They had just returned to their lodging and hadn’t even warmed their seats when they heard hurried footsteps. Immediately after, Balan arrived in their room, excitedly holding a plate.
To be honest, both Feng and Baiyue found it difficult to recognize Balan wearing a mask. Only Cheng Ziang, who was familiar with Balan, could identify her by her scent.
Therefore, whether walking in the fishing village or on the stone paths of Wujing Yv, the biggest problem faced by Baiyue and Feng was not recognizing people due to unfamiliar faces.
As mentioned earlier, the Ghost Race switches masks as casually as changing clothes, so just as they got accustomed to one of Balan’s masks, she would change it the next day.
However, Balan’s visit this time brought good news: the custom masks they had ordered were ready.
On the plate she carried, there lay four exquisitely crafted masks—the Azure Dragon and White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise masks that were customized based on the designs previously provided by Baiyue. Moreover, what was more commendable was that the Ghost Race had boldly innovated on Baiyue’s designs, optimizing many details that Baiyue had not noticed while preserving the original features.
"They were finished so quickly?" Cheng Ziang asked in surprise.
"Yes, the four masks were carved by the four most skilled masters in the village. Take a look," Balan said, placing the tray on the floor and speaking as if to take credit.
"How are they?" Cheng Ziang turned and asked Baiyue.
Baiyue didn’t speak but picked up a mask, scrutinizing it closely. Initially, she had only casually designed them, not expecting that the Ghost Race would actually carve them and even optimize many details, such as the dragon scales of the Azure Dragon, the mane of the White Tiger, the feathers of the Vermilion Bird, and the cracks of the Black Tortoise.
Of course, although the primary theme of the masks was the four divine beasts, the design still primarily featured exaggerated human faces. When it came to mask making, if the Ghost Race claimed to be the second best, no one would dare claim to be the first.
Many details on the inside of the masks were also optimized to fit the face better. Additionally, spaces were left in parts of the mask that required frequent muscle movement to prevent the skin from being scraped due to excessive movement.
The masks had a layer of clear lacquer on them, and since they were fresh out of the workshop, one could easily smell a somewhat pungent odor. However, there was no need to worry, as this smell would completely dissipate within a month.
"Wow, these could really be included in the intangible cultural heritage of the Otherworld," Cheng Ziang sincerely exclaimed, then picked up a White Tiger mask to closely inspect it. He then took off the mask Feng was wearing and placed the new White Tiger mask on her.
As soon as he let go, Feng quickly held onto the mask and adeptly secured it in place. This White Tiger mask complimented her appearance perfectly, with the mask primarily in white, complemented by black embellishments. Paired with Feng’s black hair, the black embellishments became the main color tone while the white served as a secondary tone.
Balan knelt on the floor, quietly watching the three excitedly fiddling with their masks. Eventually, she tilted her head and asked somewhat sadly, "I heard you are leaving."
"Yes," Cheng Ziang did not deny it but nodded and said, "After all, there’s still a war going on in West Outer Heaven, we need to hurry back."
"After the war, will you come back to Aximiya Island?" Balan asked expectantly.
"Well, it depends," Cheng Ziang thought for a moment and said, "Of course, we’ll definitely come back, but I don’t know when."
"I will wait for your return," Balan said earnestly.
"We will come back..." Cheng Ziang muttered these words, feeling a mix of emotions. After a moment of reflection, something suddenly occurred to him, so he asked, "By the way, is your friend Axiang okay?"
"Yes, she’s fine. Why do you ask?" Balan asked, puzzled.
"Nothing much, just felt that she might have been frightened before, so I was a bit worried about her," Cheng Ziang explained.
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